News Feature

The nation's second largest doctors' organization endorsed the medicinal use of marijuana in a major policy statement released last week.

Mexican soldiers poured into Reynosa and other border towns in the state of Tamaulipas last month in response to a wave of drug prohibition-related violence. They haven't stopped the violence, but they have put the screws to some sectors of the local economy and committed some human rights violations. Few observers there or across the river think the answer lies in Washington's proposed massive anti-drug aid package.

As part of a series of regional forums in advance of next month's meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Vancouver this week hosted a forum where participants sent a clear signal that prohibition is not working.

Even as law enforcement and its allies fight a rear-guard effort to restore lost 2008 funding for the grant program that funds state and local drug task forces, the Bush administration is proposing to cut it again in the 2009 budget.

The feds arrested a Kansas pain doctor and his wife last month, charging them with improperly prescribing narcotic pain relievers. While they claim to be protecting the public, the doctor's patients beg to differ.

Last week's California Supreme Court ruling allowing employees to fire medical marijuana users has shined a light on a gray area in medical marijuana law. While protections vary from state to state, they are for the most part limited and untested, and patients who want to work are at risk.

When Congress passed the omnibus appropriations bill a few weeks ago, it slashed funding for the federal grant program that funds local anti-drug task forces. Now the task forces are howling, and they and their allies are plotting a bid to get that money back.

Some 32 countries have laws on their books allowing for the death penalty for drug offenses. A new report details the situation and lays the groundwork for a campaign to stop it.

It's a new year, but there are lots of ongoing issues for the Chronicle to cover. Here's a look at what we think we'll be writing about in 2008.

As 2007 comes to a close, Drug War Chronicle takes a look at the 500+ stories we published this year, and offers you our best judgment call on what were the year's top ten drug war stories.